Labour mulls scheme to alert rape and stalking victims if perpetrator is nearby

The government’s plan emerged at a hearing of the Commons’ justice select committee, when Lord Timpson told MPs that he was interested in the use of technology to monitor offenders once they are let out into the community. Photograph: Kinga Krzeminska/Getty Images

Survivors of serious crimes such as rape in England and Wales could be given the option of being alerted in real-time if their perpetrator is nearby, under a scheme being considered by Labour.

James Timpson, the prisons minister, is planning in two weeks to examine a similar scheme which has been established in Spain, he told MPs on Tuesday. It could be used as one of the measures courts can impose on criminals convicted of sexual and domestic-abuse offences.